Ouellette paces Fitchburg State at DIII regionals

The Fitchburg State men's and women's cross country teams wrapped up the fall schedule Saturday at the NCAA Division III Regional Championships at Westfield State University.

The men's team placed 26th overall and third in the MASCAC, while the women finished 37th out of 60 competing schools. The women's squad made a huge improvement from its previous meet at Westfield State, posting a team average of 25:43 compared to 26:20 a month ago. In addition, the Falcons were more than a minute faster on average than last year's 26:59 pace.

All seven women's runners for the Falcons posted personal bests, with freshman Erica Mallozzi (Gardner) leading the way at 25:03. Senior Chenice Branquinho notched a time of 25:05, while sophomore Jenae Harrison (26:05), sophomore Braila Roy (26:10), graduate Linda Fortunato (26:13), junior Samantha Wilkinson (26:16) and freshman Elizabeth Ward (North Middlesex, 26:29) all posted their fastest times of the season.

The men were also solid, as sophomore Eric Ouellette (Oakmont) collected a third-place MASCAC finish at 26:57. Senior Will Lary finished second on the squad with a mark of 27:29, while sophomore Brandon Davis (Fitchburg, 28:33), classmate Jim Quinlan (28:39) and Dan Drescher (28:40) also ran well. Senior Michael Grasela (28:47) and freshman Tim Allen (28:51) rounded out the Falcon runners.

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